Game ball



Sept. 18, 1928.

A. '1'. sAUNDl-:Rs

GAME BALL Filed Feb. 5, 1927 Patented Sept?. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES ADDISON T. SAUNDERS, OF' AKRON, OHIO,

ASSIGNOR TO A. G. SPALDING- @rl-BROS., OF

NEW `YORK, N. Y., CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

GAME BALL.

Application led February 3, 1927. Serial No. 165,663.

My invention relates Ato improvements in that class of balls known as game ballsor playing balls. balls of lighter weight than heretofore used in such games, and having other distmctlve characteristics which render it suitable, for practice by badminton players, instead ofthe shuttlecock used in that game, and 'for' a modified, or light, tennis. I

lo Played under the rules of badminton and with the light badminton racket, this ball has the advantages that it is not injured by the down stroke, a single one of which frequently wrecks a shuttlecock by breaking the shafts l5 of the feathers and `thus making it unplayable, and further that the great overhead space demanded for the flight of the usual feathered shuttlecock is not required.

rlhis is 4due to the fact that when the ball is struck it travels in the direction of the impulse from the racket, as does the usual tennis ball, while a' characteristic of the shuttlecock is that when struck with a directly forward, horizontal impulse while pitching 1n an almost vertical direction, which is a part ofits most frequent trajectory in play, 1t

takes a sharp upward angle of approxlmately forty-five degrees from the horizontal as 1t leaves the racket.

3o The importance of a substitute for the shutthe minimum height of ceiling for badminton courts is named as twenty-five feet, owing/to L'this lofting action. l

When a court with this great overhead space is not available an interesting game' maybe played with `one of the forms of my invention, described below, and under the rules of badminton.

40 When the ball is played under the rules of tennis, a. light racket such as the badminton racket is preferable.

It will be understood. that these implements,- `a racket of only about one-third the weight of the usual tennisracket, and a ball correspondingly light, make the game of ten- A nis available for children and those adults who have not the strength of wrist to wield,

pleasurably, the heavier racket. so By the expedients described below I am able 130` ShOI'eIl 011e Hight 0f the. ball S0 that free expulsion of the air content at the in.

the game, under the regular tennis rules, may

be played in the space of a badminton court.'

It will be seen that this is very desirable, mak- More directly it relates to ing the game available for many in thc smaller gymnasiums, playgrounds and lawns. Figure 1 shows a thin walled ball according to my invention having minimum perforation of its wall..

Fig. 2 is a view of a ball having medium perforation of its wall. y

Fig. V is a view of a ball having maximum perforation of its wall.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of a freely perforated ball upon impingement on the top edge of the net.

In all the forms shown in Figures l, 2,

and 3 the ball has a thin wall, for example,

say 31E of an inch. l

The ball of Fig. l has one small perforation at l; that of Fig. 2 has perforationsaat 2, and the ball of Fig. y3 has perforations at 3.

The novel characteristics of my invention are:

(l) A ball of hollow construction with rubber wall of such thinness as has not heretofore been employed in any game ball, and with but slight resistance to indenting, yet resilient; having the quality of quick return to spherical form when distorted.

. (2) In combination with such a wall, a state of non-inflation, that is to say, that at rest the air content of the ball is o-ne atmosing air. y y

(3) For the maintenance of this state of Uphere, or at equilibrium with the surroundtlecock will be seen when it is cons1dered that j equilibrium and for the further purposes described below, a perforation or plurality of perforations through the wall.

(4:) When I employ a plurality of perforations, the spacing of these uniformly and geometrically with relation to the surface of the ball.

While I do not wish to limit myself to any exact figures or dimensions, I would say that for the ames mentioned above, I prefer a ball of a ut'21/ inches diameter, and in the case of badminton a weight of about 1/5 to 1A oz. with a4 wall thickness ofonly about twenty thousandths inches (.020), and as the missile is always in the air when in play, that is, is not required to rebound from the Hoor, I prefer to provide a plurality of perforations to such amount as to permit the stant of impact of the racket.. This not only slows down the pace by avoiding action of' the resiliency of the air, but further retards flight-length and pace by increasing the friction or resistance of the atmosphere, ,the air through which the ball flies.

It will be plain that when a plurality of perforations is employed their geometric placing upon the surface is desirable. Suc-h arrangement maintains balance as to weight of the various parts of the wall, equalizes the air resistance and avoids inequalit of action in the various parts of the resilient wall which would result from clustering the perforations or distributing them unequally. I find that I can secure any shade of deadening of rebound", between the ball with only the minimum perforation or.breather to one wherein the total area of perforations is so great that the ball, in spite of the resilient quality of the wall,- has practically no rebound.

Therefore, it will be understood I can .t-une or adapt balls to any character and behavior to meet various demands.

For instance, by employing a perforation of only the limited capacity required to permit the intake of air in response to the" eli'ort of the resilient wall to return to spherical form after being indented or depressed, (and thereby losing a portion of its air content-,) I make available and operative the resiliency of the contained air as well as of the wall, since, under the quick impact of the racket, but a very slight portion of the air escapes through the breather. s

Thus, and by a slight increase in the weight of the wall, I produce a ball of propenresilience and playing qualities for the game of light tennis, wherein a specified degree of rebound is important. l This light ball, as indicated above, is adapted to be played with light badminton rackets, under tennis rules. And, as indicated above, by the use of the expedients stated for controlling flight, more particularly in this case by kee ing the wall thin, I secure a ballad'apted to s ort courts.

A desirable property of the ball, not men-r tioned above, functions when themissile impinges on the topedge of the net. It is desirable in some games that when this occurs the missile shall be directed downward there? by. This is important in skilled play in the game .of badminton. Theshuttlecock is so deflected.

The direction of flight of a firm or nearly rigid ball such as the usual, inflated, tennis sharply indented by such contacts, with the effect of a clinging action on the edge of the net in passing, which causesit to imitate the action of the shuttlecock under like conditions.

No game ball, prior to my invention, has had a wall of such character as to permit of being deeply and sharply indented with-in a small or limited area of its surface without materially altering the contour of'and distorting the major part of the surface of the sphere. It will be seen that this is desirable for the reason above given.

Since, in the case of a ball `featured with the free perforation, the compression of air within is, upon impact, relieved by the perforation, the ball must recover its shape e-ntirely by reason of the resiliency of its wall, and does not offer any air resistance against the inner surface of the concavity or indentation, as does the ordinary non-perforate ball, which yefectively resists indentation by reason of the contained air being compressed and which is thereby distorted in other parts when impact with a surface takes place. The ordinary non-perforate ball is merely liat- ;tened upon impactwith a flat surface and is not indented.

By the construction and expedients herein above set forth, a thin walled ball for badminton, light tennis and the like is provided of a character and behavior clearly distinguished from the usual game balls which, owing to greater weight, thickness and stiffness of wall, internal air pressure or other characteristics, are incapable of being deeply indented and of exhibiting the behavior, in play, of this invention.

I claim-Q l. A hollow game ball as a substitute for the shuttle in badminton or for light tennis and the like, com rising a thin resilient perforated indentab e rubber wall, said wall being adapted'to be locally sharply indented upon impact of slight force and when so indented' in any portion to retain its spherical form in other portions, and to recover from indentation, the perforations being of small size such that the spherocity of the ball will be substantially unimpaired, substantially as described.

2. A hollow playing ball of resilient rubber having a diameter of approximately 21A inches and a wall thickness of approximately .02 of an inch, said resilient wall being perforated, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aliix my signature.

ADDISON T, SAUNDERS. 

